Stretching your dollar: The Wonders of Buttermilk

Oh the wonders of church!  A lady from my church taught me this trick when I was telling her I use the old sour your milk trick.  She told me that she feels like this tastes better, so she sticks to the real thing.  I like it either way but in case you like the real deal too, here’s an awesome tip for you. If you are in a pinch and need to know how to make buttermilk just with the powdered milk or regular milk you have on hand, just skip to the bottom!

Printable Recipe

The Wonders of Buttermilk
If you already have store bought buttermilk and prefer the taste of actual buttermilk to that of soured milk, you don’t have to spend lots of time and hard earned money on real buttermilk from the store.

Streching your store bought buttermilk
1 c store bought buttermilk
3 c regular milk (Many people prefer whole because it is creamier, but skim will work)

To stretch your buttermilk, all you will need is 1 container of buttermilk.  (You can usually find an 8 oz container for less than .50 at the store) and 3 cups of regular milk.  Get one of your quart sized canning jars and add the two milks into the jar and allow it to sit on the countertop for 12 hours.  (Some sources say 8-24 hours, but as long as it is sticking to the sides of the jar and looking thicker, you’re in business!)  The way this works is the the cultures that are in the buttermilk (Lactobaccillus according to ehow) ferment with the regular milk making it naturally soured.  

Tips for success: If you don’t have a glass jar, do not despair you can wait until your buttermilk container is nearly empty, then add regular milk to the regular container.  Just remember the 1:3 ratio.  Good news is that this lasts for weeks so you will have plenty of time to make buttermilk pancakes, waffles, buttermilk syrup, banana bread, ranch dressing,.... okay I need to stop because my mouth is watering.
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Streching your store bought buttermilk from food storage
What if you don’t have regular milk?  Just mix up some powdered milk to go with it.  If you are using a glass jar as per the example, just fill it with:

4 cups or 1 quart of buttermilk
3 c warm water
½ c + 1 T of powdered milk (9 T if you want to do it the long way ;)
1 c buttermilk

Mix warm water and powdered milk well. Then add buttermilk.  Allow to sit on the counter at least 8 hours (I would probably wait 12 if I had the choice) then refrigerate for up to a couple weeks.

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Buttermilk strictly from food storage
If you are living strictly on food storage and don’t have the time, money or desire to go to Walmart and need buttermilk in a pinch, use the good ole’ sour your milk trick.  I use this 99% of the time.

Butermilk: Yields 1 cup
1 c warm water
1 t white vinegar or lemon juice
3 T powdered milk

Mix ingredients together and allow to sit for 5 minutes then add to the recipe in place of buttermilk. Voila!

Tips for success: For those of you with lactose intolerance, this trick works great with Moo’s Milk (a milk alternative).

This is the consistency you are hoping to achieve.  As you can 

see it is thick enough to stick to the edges. It should look kind of viscous.   Now that I have a gallon of buttermilk, I can't wait to see what recipes everyone throws at me!

This link had some information on making buttermilk from raw milk over a period of days. Although that would not be a regular thing for me, its a good thing to know if you are living in a long term emergency food situation. Interesting.

Thanks for stopping by!


Question of the Day:
What recipes do you use buttermilk in?

Be sure to try this out in Brianna's Mini Corndog Recipe!


Did you see the details on the next Giveaway?

Powdered Milk Instant vs. Non Instant

Powdered Milk

Powdered Milk is sort of the unsung hero of all of the food storage we need.  Most people know that it is a priority in food storage, and yet it is usually the last thing people buy.  There are several reasons for this:

- Powdered Milk is much pricier than many of the basics we need.

Just like other items in food storage, when bought in bulk, milk can be very affordable.  Why I love THRIVE Instant Milk - With the buckets that are the equivalent of 8 of the large #10 cans, the milk comes out to only about $2 a gallon. (This deal is good for all Q customers or if I submit the order for you.  Email me at Tiffany@HelpingFamiliesThrive.com for more details.) I don't know what the price for milk is at your grocery store, but that beats mine by a mile!  Plus, you get the freedom to never have to go to store for just milk and a cart full of regrets and time not well spent... priceless!   If you're not ready to buy a full bucket, our #10 cans come out to under $4/gallon and our milk is made with no added hormones.


-Powdered Milk tastes weird or just plain gross.

Most people remember a time when they were little kids and they had to drink powdered milk for one reason or another.  Let me reassure you that powdered milk in general has come a LOOONG way, but ours is more than just an improvement.  Its TOP NOTCH.  For the taste, you just can't beat it.  This blind taste test proves it!

I taught a powdered milk class and had samples from 5 different sources and THRIVE Instant won the blindfold test hands down! I get people who drink it at my house all of the time who didn't realize that it was "fake milk" or whatever non believers like to call it :) and they are so surprised by the great flavor.  

-I am Lactose Intolerant so I can't drink milk.  Why should I buy milk for my food storage?

My son and I who typically have problems with dairy products can even drink the Instant Milk, but for those of you who are truly sensitive, we also sell a milk alternative we call non-fat powdered milk and chocolate drink mix.  These are a whey based protein drink that seem to be very gentle on tummies who usually have problems with milk because of their low lactose content.

-I could never rotate through milk quick enough.  It is just going to be a waste of money.

This used to be an excuse, but since we have a 25 year sealed shelf life or 1 year open, the risk of expiring milk is not really one that you need to have on your list anymore.  Even if you are not ready for dry milk to become a part of your everyday drink of choice, there are still plenty of ways you can use this great ingredient to beef up some of your old recipes or to fabricate other canned foods you used to buy at the store for a much cheaper and healthier alternative.  If you are using a little THRIVE milk in everyday cooking, you should be able to rotate through it with plenty of time.  You can go to this page to see recipes on many basic things that use powdered milk, or here for our Best Ever Cornbread, and even add it to soups to give it a creamier flavor.

Other good news is powdered milk is still good even past the expiration, it just tends to develop an off taste.  If this is the case, save it just for cooking or baking and it will continue to add great texture and flavor to your cooking without being noticeable.

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Let’s talk about the different varieties on the market.

Instant milk is the regular dry milk that taste’s closer to the milk we buy from the grocery store.  It usually looks more like clumps and is able to dissolve in hot or cold water.  It is generally more expensive than the non-fat varieties, but is better suited for times when you would need to bring milk with you on the go.  Due to its texture, it generally takes about double the amount of powder to equal the equivalent amount of milk.

Regular non-fat dry milk is the type most people are familiar with.  This milk must be added to warm water in order to dissolve well and for best flavor should be refrigerated overnight.  Most would agree that it taste’s more like milk when doctored with a couple teaspoons of sugar and a couple drops of vanilla.

Moo’s Milk is not actually milk, but is a whey-based protein with other ingredients used to taste like milk.  It is a great option for people who are lactose intolerant who still need a milk replacement for food storage.  I have heard it referred to as the “Tang” of milks because although it has calcium and some vitamins, it is less complete nutritionally then other powdered milks.

The great thing about powdered milk is that it provides a large variety of things we have in our regular diets which we would have a difficult time doing with out including buttermilk, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, cheese, yogurt, cream cheese, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, whipped cream… you get the picture.  So, if you like one or more of the proceeding items, you might want to consider getting some milk in your “Home Store”.

Powdered milk will become more than just a comfort food if we ever had to solely rely on food storage as you think about all of the calcium it provides for strong healthy bones in growing children and adults as well as a much more flavorful option than water in recipes.

Basic powdered milk conversions:

To Make:   You need	Water	THRIVE Instant Milk	Non-Instant
¼ cup	¼ cup	1-½ T	1 t
½ cup	½ cup	3 T-1/4 c	1 ½ T
1 cup	1 cup	1/3 c-1/2 c	3T
1 quart	1 quart	3/4c -1 c	1/3 c
1 pint	1 pint	1 1/2 -2 c	1-1/3 c
1 gallon	1 gallon	3-4 c	2-2/3 c

In most cases (like for baking bread) double the amount of powder of THRIVE Instant milk in place of powdered milk.  Both milks taste great in cooking and baking.  I left variance in it because I know that some people like it stronger, but it is great with the lower amount.

Ready to get started using it? Go here for the basic recipes!

If you like this entry, you might also like my homemade cream soups recipes or apple pancakes.

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Cansolidator Pantry Drawing

In order to introduce people to my new Shelf Reliance Blog, I am holding a drawing.  The only thing you have to do to enter is make a comment beneath this post with your favorite food storage tip, recipe or cooking trick.  ANYONE in the US can enter.  I will put a basic example below, but will not put any real creative ones on unless it looks like people need some help to get the creative juices flowing!  If you post a creative trick or cooking tip I've never heard of, or a recipe that I make into a "THRIVE recipe" that I post on my blog I will enter you in twice.  If you don't know any tricks, just google it and you will find a plethora of ideas on the web. I figure this is a great way to get new ideas out there!

In order to rotate through my wheat supply and keep my family used to its flavor and texture, I use at least 50% wheat in all of my recipes that call for flour. (I like the saying that they use for the new mypyramid that says "Make half your grains whole!")  This is a much healthier way to get the added nutrients and oils from the flour without making a huge switch on your family.

If you want to learn more about the product I am raffling off, just click on the picture of the Cansolidator Pantry on my homepage and it will take you to the Shelf Reliance website. It holds up to 40 cans and is absolutely wonderful from what I hear!